Decades-long plan to protect caribou in Nunavut nearing completion

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Since the 1990s, some caribou populations in Canada's North have declined by as much as 98 per cent because of challenges exacerbated by climate change. 

Caribou migrate seasonally for food and in order to give birth to calves. Sea ice is a means of travel for the caribou from the islands to the mainland, but it has decreased in stability over the years because of a warming climate.

"We know that sea ice is being very affected by the changing conditions," said Justina Ray, president and senior scientist of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, in an interview with What On Earth host Laura Lynch.

"And then you add to that the fact that there's more travel by shipping by boats during certain times of year, which can make the [caribou] crossover that much more precarious."

The long-awaited Nunavut Land Use Plan (NLUP), which incorporates traditional Inuit knowledge and scientific knowledge, has the potential to protect the caribou. The Nunavut Planning Commission began developing the NLUP in 2007, and after more than a decade of development, it is finally in the consultation phase. This phase allows for extensive community input, with public hearings scheduled for November. The final draft of the NLUP is expected in 2022.